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Health researcher vs postdoctoral scholar

The differences between health researchers and postdoctoral scholars can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a health researcher and a postdoctoral scholar. Additionally, a health researcher has an average salary of $83,787, which is higher than the $57,587 average annual salary of a postdoctoral scholar.

The top three skills for a health researcher include health services, data collection and data analysis. The most important skills for a postdoctoral scholar are chemistry, python, and patients.

Health researcher vs postdoctoral scholar overview

Health ResearcherPostdoctoral Scholar
Yearly salary$83,787$57,587
Hourly rate$40.28$27.69
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs53,50418,983
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age4141
Years of experience44

What does a health researcher do?

A health researcher is responsible for analyzing materials and publications and develop efficient research methodologies to support the analysis within the health industry. Health researchers review the current health trends, identify risks that may put public health in jeopardy, and coordinating with medical health professionals for in-depth investigation of diseases. They also assist laboratory technicians in performing examinations according to the research findings, proposing treatment plans, and improving diagnosing methods. A health researcher may present the study with different institutions, including the government, and recommend ways to minimize public health risk.

What does a postdoctoral scholar do?

A Postdoctoral Scholar is responsible for supporting an educational research group to conduct studies and gather relevant data to support study claims and scientific evidence. They review initial findings, perform field investigations, and interview the target respondents for data and statistical analysis. They also coordinate with the whole team for efficient research methods, ensuring adherence to budget limitations and required timetables. A Postdoctoral Scholar must have excellent communication skills, both oral and written, to document reports and discuss results with the research team.

Health researcher vs postdoctoral scholar salary

Health researchers and postdoctoral scholars have different pay scales, as shown below.

Health ResearcherPostdoctoral Scholar
Average salary$83,787$57,587
Salary rangeBetween $57,000 And $122,000Between $41,000 And $79,000
Highest paying CityNew Brunswick, NJSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew JerseyCalifornia
Best paying companyAppleMicrosoft
Best paying industryGovernmentTechnology

Differences between health researcher and postdoctoral scholar education

There are a few differences between a health researcher and a postdoctoral scholar in terms of educational background:

Health ResearcherPostdoctoral Scholar
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common majorPsychologyChemistry
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

Health researcher vs postdoctoral scholar demographics

Here are the differences between health researchers' and postdoctoral scholars' demographics:

Health ResearcherPostdoctoral Scholar
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 32.4% Female, 67.6%Male, 53.0% Female, 47.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 26.4% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 26.3% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between health researcher and postdoctoral scholar duties and responsibilities

Health researcher example responsibilities.

  • Lead Inovalon's team of biostatisticians and SAS programmers.
  • Manage database of test responses and conduct data analyses for NIH technical report.
  • Manage site assessment, initiation, monitoring, query resolution and site closure done by several CRO's and sponsors.
  • Create Linux shell scripts to automate common process which severely reduce manual work load and processing time for the entire lab.
  • Acquire and analyze clinical data (SAS programming).
  • Coordinate an FDA document retrieval system which decrease time and costs in filing new drug applications.
  • Show more

Postdoctoral scholar example responsibilities.

  • Lead community-based health projects on and off campus as an Oslerian student scholar.
  • Lead the in-vitro biophysical and biochemical characterization of homologous recombination and investigate structure-function effects of mutant enzymes.
  • Utilize basic organic and inorganic chemistry techniques including polymer synthesis and NMR spectroscopy.
  • Train graduate students on molecular biology techniques- DNA and RNA extraction and qPCR.
  • Contribute to successful NIH grant proposals.
  • Develop HPLC analysis method for skin folate.
  • Show more

Health researcher vs postdoctoral scholar skills

Common health researcher skills
  • Health Services, 13%
  • Data Collection, 12%
  • Data Analysis, 10%
  • Research Findings, 8%
  • Health Economics, 6%
  • Health Insurance, 5%
Common postdoctoral scholar skills
  • Chemistry, 10%
  • Python, 8%
  • Patients, 6%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
  • NIH, 5%
  • C++, 5%

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